TheStreet buys The Deal for $US5.8m

TheStreet agreed on Wednesday to buy The Deal, publisher of a longtime bible of the mergers industry, for $US5.8 million from the investment firm that manages money for the estate of the late Bruce Wasserstein and other investors.

TheStreet’s primary interest is in The Deal’s online subscription service, and company executives said on a conference call with analysts on Wednesday that they planned to shut down the company’s monthly magazine.

The deal will unite TheStreet, the financial information Web site and service that rose to fame on the back of its association with Jim Cramer, with The Deal, which began as a magazine co-created by Mr. Wasserstein in 1999 to cater to his fellow specialists in mergers and acquisitions.

Buying The Deal will bolster TheStreet’s revenue from subscriptions, particularly from senior bankers and lawyers who receive the magazine and have access to its Web site. The company is betting on a resurgence in deal activity, which it is hoping will propel a growth in subscriptions.

Among its plans, executives said, was to push more content from TheStreet onto The Deal Pipeline service.